The Housemaid (Sang-Soo Im, 2010)

A gorgeous house is more or less the only reason to watch this movie, especially the crazy and beautiful chandelier. Well, it's not a reason to watch the movie, but it is a thing to enjoy if you somehow find yourself having to watch it. And despite the production team's obvious adoration for beautiful aesthetic, it's just another dull hodgepodge of a poor, naive, innocent, unadulterated, sweet, childlike, etc. etc. girl being manipulated into the Machiavellian machinations of the twisted, evil, greedy, self-involved, cruel, heartless, etc. etc. rich upper classes. Other than Yeo-Jong Yun as a self-loathing servant the characters and performances are all dully one-note. And the "erotic" part of this supposedly erotic thriller is mostly comical, featuring silly camera placement that feels completely abnormal and Jung-Jae Lee as the male lead exclaiming some weird things you're unlikely to even hear a guy shouting in your average porno flick. The thrills don't add up to much, either, unless you get your jollies watching a helpless girl being slowly trapped into a situation you know she will never escape from (maybe Lars Von Trier is a fan). The ending, too, is a confused mess, seemingly poking fun at the naivete and uselessness of the very character the film spent its time trying to get us to root for.